IHT INDUSTRIE HAUTE TECHNOLOGIE SA

Their core work

IHT is a Swiss industrial manufacturer of large-scale pressurized alkaline electrolysers — the heavy machinery that splits water into green hydrogen using electricity. Based in Monthey (Valais), they design and build multi-megawatt systems engineered to run at elevated pressure, which reduces downstream compression costs for hydrogen storage and grid-balancing applications. Across three H2020 projects they supplied the electrolyser hardware, participated in standardized qualification testing, and helped demonstrate 4 MW units providing grid services. For partners, IHT is a rare thing: a commercial-scale European electrolyser OEM willing to put real hardware into research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Between 2015 and 2017, IHT's work was focused on engineering development — making a multi-megawatt high-pressure alkaline electrolyser grid-ready (ELYntegration). From 2017 onward the focus shifted toward standardized testing (QualyGridS) and real-world demonstration with commercial framing (Demo4Grid, which runs through 2023 and explicitly adds business models and market analysis to the keyword mix). The arc is a classic technology-readiness climb: build the hardware, qualify it, then prove it pays in a grid-services market.

IHT is moving from R&D hardware supplier toward commercial deployment partner — expect them to be most interested in projects involving real-site hydrogen plants, grid ancillary services, and business-case validation rather than early-TRL lab work.

How they like to work

IHT consistently joins as a participant rather than coordinator, acting as the industrial hardware partner in consortia led by research institutes or larger energy players. With 16 unique partners across 11 countries over just three projects, they rotate through different consortia rather than sticking with the same group — behavior typical of a specialist supplier that each consortium needs exactly one of. Expect them to bring equipment, engineering data, and demo-site credibility, not project management.

Sixteen distinct partners across eleven countries in only three projects signals a broad European footprint rather than a tight local circle. The reach is pan-European, consistent with the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking's international consortia.

What sets them apart

Very few European SMEs actually manufacture multi-megawatt pressurized alkaline electrolysers — most hydrogen players are either research labs or much larger OEMs. IHT sits in the rare middle ground: a small Swiss industrial firm with real commercial-scale hardware that EU hydrogen projects can specify, install, and test. For a consortium that needs genuine MW-class alkaline equipment rather than a scaled-up prototype, IHT is a short-list candidate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Demo4Grid
  Their longest and most commercially-oriented project (2017-2023), demonstrating a 4 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyser in real grid-balancing service and adding business-model work.
• ELYntegration
  The foundational project that positioned IHT's multi-MW high-pressure alkaline electrolyser as grid-integration ready — the technology base the later projects build on.
• QualyGridS
  A standardization-focused project developing qualifying tests for electrolysers providing grid services, giving IHT a seat at the table when the testing rules get written.